Diffusion of Innovations by Everett M. Rogers

Chapter 1: Elements of Diffusions•Diffusion is the process in which an innovation is communicated through certain channels over time among the members of a social system. It is a special type of communication, in that the messages are concerned with new ideas. (5)

•Communication is a process in which participants create and share new information with one another in order to reach a mutual understanding. This definition implies that communication is a process of convergence (or divergence) as two or more individuals exchange information in order to move towards each other (or apart) in the meetings that they give to certain events. (5-6)

•Diffusion is a special type of communications in which the messages are about a new idea. This newness of the idea in the message content gives diffusion its special character. The newness means that some degree of uncertainty is involved in diffusion. (6)

•Diffusion is a kind of social change, defined as the process by which alteration occurs in the structure and function of a social system. When new ideas are invented, diffused, and adopted or rejected, leading to certain consequences, social change occurs. (6)

Four Main Elements in the Diffusion of Innovations•The four main elements are the innovation, communication channels, time, and the social system. (11)

•1) The Innovation: An innovation is an idea, practice, or object that is perceived as new by an individual or other unit of adoption (12). Among the important research questions addressed by diffusion scholars are 1) how earlier adopters differ from later adopters of an innovation. 2) how the perceived attributes of an innovation, such as its relative advantage, compatibility, and so on, affect its rate of adoption, whether relatively rapidly or more slowly. 3) why the S-shaped diffusion curve “takes off” at about 10 to 20 percent adoption, when interpersonal networks become activated so that a critical mass of adopters begin using an innovation. (12)

•A technology is a design for instrumental action that reduces the uncertainty in the cause-effect relationships involved in achieving a desired outcome. A technology usually has two components: (1) a hardware aspect, consisting of the tool that embodies the technology as a material or physical object, and (2) a software aspect, consisting of the information base for the tool (13).

•The potential advantage of a new idea impels an individual to exert effort to learn more about the innovation. Once such information-seeking activities reduce uncertainty about the innovation’s expected consequences to a tolerable level, a decision concerning adoption or rejection can be made. If a new idea is then used, further evaluative information about its effects is obtained. Thus, the innovation-decision process is essentially an information-seeking and information-processing activity in which an individual is motivated to reduce uncertainty about the advantages and disadvantages of the innovation (14).

The Innovation cont.

•The main questions that an individual typically ask about a new idea include “What is the innovation?” “How does it work?” Why does it work?” What are the innovation’s consequences?” and “What will its advantages and disadvantages be in my situation?”

•A technology cluster consists of one or more distinguishable elements of technology that are perceived as being closely interrelated (14).

•Perceived Attributes of Innovations: 1) Relative advantage is the degree to which an innovation is perceived as better than the idea it supersedes. The greater the perceived relative advantage of an innovation, the more rapid its rate of adoption will be. 2) Compatibility is the degree to which an innovation is perceived as being consistent with the existing values, past experiences, and needs of potential adopters. 3) Complexity is the degree to which an innovation is perceived as difficult to understand and use. New ideas that are simpler to understand are adopted more rapidly than innovations that require the adopter to develop new skills and understandings. 4) Trialability is the degree to which an innovation may be experimented with on a limited basis. New ideas that can be tried on installment plan will generally be adopted more quickly than innovations that are not divisible. An innovation that is trialable represents less uncertainty to the individual who is considering it for adoption, as it is possible to learn by doing. 5) Observability is the degree to which the results of an innovation are visible to others. The easier it is for individuals to see the results of an innovation, the more likely they are to adopt (15-16).

•Innovations that are perceived by individuals as having greater relative advantage, compatibility, trialability, and observability and less complexity will be adopted more rapidly than other innovations. The first two attributes, relative advantage and compatability, are particularly important in explaining an innovation’s rate of adoption (16-17).

•The concept of reinvention, defined as the degree to which an innovation is changed or modified by a user in the process of adoption and implementation (17).

•2. Communication Channels: The essence of the diffusion process is the information exchange through which one individual communicates a new idea to one or several others. At its most elementary form, the process involves (1) an innovation, (2) an individual or other unit of adoption that has knowledge of, or has experienced using, the innovation, (3) another individual or other unit that does not yet have knowledge of, or experience with, the innovation, and (4) a communication channel connecting the two units (18).

•A communication channel is the means by which messages get from one individual to another. The nature of the information exchange relationship between a pair of individuals determines the conditions under which a source will or will not transmit the innovation to the receiver and the effect of such a transfer (18).

•Mass Media channels are all those means of transmitting messages that involve a mass medium, such as radio, television, newspapers, and so on, which enable one or a few individuals to reach and audience of many (18).

•Interpersonal channels involve a face-to-face exchange between two or more individuals (18).

Cont.•Homophily is the degree to which two or more individuals who interact are similar in certain attributes, such as beliefs, education, socioeconomics status, and the like (19).

•Heterophily, the opposite of homophily, is defined as the degree to which two or more individuals who interact are different in certain attributes. One of the most distinctive problems in the diffusion of innovations is that the participants are usually quite heterophilous (19).

•3. Time: The time dimension is involved in diffusion in (1) the innovation-decision process by which an individual passes from first knowledge of an innovation through its adoption or rejection, (2) the innovativeness of an individual or other unit of adoption compared with other members of a system, and (3) an innovation’s rate of adoption in a system, usually measured as the number of members of the system who adopt the innovation in a given time period.

•The innovation-decision process is the process through which an individual passes from first knowledge of an innovation, to the formation of an attitude towards the innovation, to a decision to adopt or reject, to implementation and use of the new idea, and to confirmation of this decision. We conceptualize five main steps in the innovation-decision process: (1) knowledge, (2) persuasion, (3) decision, (4) implementation, and (5) confirmation (20).

•Knowledge is gained when an individual learns of the innovation’s existence and gains some understanding of how it functions. Persuasion takes place when an individual forms a favorable or unfavorable attitude towards the innovation. Decision occurs when an individual engages in activities that lead to a choice to adopt or reject the innovation. Implementation takes place when an individual puts an innovation into use. Re-invention is especially likely to occur at the implementation stage. Confirmation occurs when an individual seeks reinforcement of an innovation-decision that has already been made, but he or she may reverse this previous decision if exposed to conflicting messages about the innovation (20).

•The innovation-decision process can lead to either adoption, a decision to make full use of an innovation as the best course of action available, or rejection, a decision not adopt an innovation (21).

•The innovation-decision period is the length of time required to pass through the innovation-decision process (21).

•Innovativeness is the degree to which an individual or other unit of adoption is relatively earlier in adopting new ideas than the other members of a system (22).

•Adopter categories, the classification of members of a social system on the basis of innovativeness, include: (1) innovators, (2) early adopters, (3) early majority, (4) late majority, and (5) laggards (22).

•A third way in which the time dimension is involved in the diffusion of innovations concerns the rate of adoption, defined as the relative speed with which an innovation is adopted by members of a social system (23).

•A social system is defined as a set of interrelated units that are engaged in joint problem solving to accomplish a common goal (23).

Cont.

•We define structure as the patterned arrangements of the units in a system. This structure gives regularity and stability to human behavior in a system; it allows one to predict behavior with some degree of accuracy (24).

•We define such communication structure as the differentiated elements that can be recognized in the patterned communication flows in a system (24).

•Systems effects, the influences the structure and/or composition of a system on the behavior of the members of the system (25).

•Norms are the established behavior patterns for the members of a social system. Norms define a range of tolerable behavior and serve as a guide or standard for the behavior of members of a social system. The norms of a system tell individuals what behavior they are expected to perform (26).

•Opinion Leadership is the degree to which an individual is able to influence other individuals’ attitudes or overt behavior informally in a desired way with relative frequency. Opinion leadership is earned and maintained by the individual’s technical competence, social accessibility, and conformity to the system’s norms (27).

•When opinion leaders are compared with their followers, they (1) are more exposed to all forms of external communication and thus are somewhat more cosmopolite, (2) have somewhat higher socioeconomics status, and (3) are more innovative (27).

•A communication network consists of interconnected individuals who are linked by patterned flows of information (27).

•A change agent is an individual who influences clients’ innovation-decisions in a direction deemed desirable by a change agency. The change agent usually seeks to obtain the adoption of new ideas but may also attempt to slow down diffusion and prevent the adoption of undesirable innovations (27).

•Many change agencies employ change agent aides. An aide is a less than fully professional change agent who intensively contacts clients to influence their innovation-decisions. Aides are usually homophilous with the average client and thus provide one means of bridging the heterophily gap between professional change agents and their client audience (28).

•Innovations can be adopted or rejected (1) by an individual member of a system or (2) by the entire social system, which can decide to adopt an innovation by a collective or an authority decision. 1) Optimal innovation-decisions are choices to adopt or reject an innovation that are made by an individual independent of the decisions of the other members of the system. 2) Collective innovation-decisions are choices to adopt or reject an innovation that are made by consensus among the members of a system. 3) Authority innovation-decisions are choices to adopt or reject an innovation that are made by a relatively few individuals in a system who possess power, status, or technical expertise (28-29).

•Contingent innovation-decisions are choices to adopt or reject that can be made only after a prior innovation-decisions.

•Consequences are the changes that occur to an individual or to a social system as a result of the adoption or rejection of an innovation (30-31).

Cont.•Three classifications of consequences are: 1) Desirable vs. undesirable consequences, depending on whether the effects of an innovation in a social system are functional or dysfunctional. 2) Direct vs. indirect consequences, depending on whether the changes to an individual or to a social system occur in immediate response to an innovation or as a second-order result of the direct consequences of an innovation. 3) Anticipated vs. unanticipated consequences, depending on whether or not the changes are recognized and intended by the members of a social system.

2: A History of Diffusion Research:•A research tradition is a series of investigations on a similar topic in which successive studies are influenced by preceding inquires (39).

•Stranger, defined as an individual who is a member of a system but who is not strongly attached to the system (42).

•Invention, the process by which a new idea is discovered or created (43).

•Participant observation, an attempt by a researcher to adopt the perspective of respondents by sharing their day-to-day experiences (48).

•The major diffusion traditions described are anthropology, early sociology, rural sociology, education, public health/medical sociology, communication, marketing, geography, and general sociology (101).

•Eight main types of diffusion research are: 1) Earliness of knowing about innovations. 2) Rate of adoption of different innovations in a social system. 3) Innovativeness. 4) Opinion leadership. 5) Diffusion networks. 6) Rate of adoption in different social systems. 7) Communication channel usage. 8) Consequences of innovation (94-100).